Scent of a Vampire (8 page)

"Motherfuc...."

He reached over and began rubbing my arms. "I apologize. I do not normally talk like this in front of a lady. As you know, I am from Italy and was born in the fourteenth century. We were taught to only honor and respect women back then."

"Geez, I forgot how old you are. You must have seen some incredible things in your long life."

"Yes, I have, but even though it's been a long life, it's no different than your own. Life seems to have a way of sliding by unawares. In your own lifetime you have seen new inventions and advancements in science. Computers and cell phones are more recent inventions and I bet you can remember a time before they were invented."

"Yeah, of course I can."

"But I bet it's hard to remember when you didn't use a computer. Well, that's how it is for me. I remember back to the days before automobiles and airplanes, but I have to make an effort to do so."

We began to walk again and I asked him, "Do you have a cell phone? I left mine in my purse, which is back in the car. I want to try and call my parents. And I want to call Janel and let her
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know I'm okay."

"No. No cell phones. They can easily be tracked."

"Is that how you found me?" I asked.

"No. When Janel discovered you had gone, which was thankfully only a few minutes after you left, Alexander and I went into action. Janel gave me a piece of your clothing so that I could follow your scent. Alexander wanted to come of course, but I am faster." He said without the least bit of conceit.

He continued, "Alex is guarding Janel, and has called one of his friends to pick us up a few miles from here. He will take us to a safe house that is nearby. Dawn is quickly approaching. I need to be somewhere safe to sleep."

"But what about my parents? I need to get to them right away."

"I understand piccolina but you can't go there alone and I need to sleep until dusk. When I awaken we can continue on. In the mean time, I've already dispatched some of my human guards to go to your parent's house to find out what they can. They will get a report to me this evening."

"Thank you Roberto, my parents mean everything to me and I'm so scared for them."

"If it's within my power, I will let no harm come to them, I promise." He vowed.

I had to ask. "What clothing did Janel give you?" I didn't see him carrying anything. He looked contrite when he pulled a red thong from the pocket of his black leather jacket. Embarrassed beyond words, I snatched it out of his hand. As we continued walking, I allowed myself to dart him quick glances. He was too good looking. A guy like that would never be interested in me. He was drawn to the Sensay, not to the woman. I suddenly felt overloaded with emotion and began to quietly cry.

Roberto swiftly turned and gathered me up into his arms once again and began to murmur soothing words to me. I didn't have the ability or the strength to protest his carrying me, so I curled into his hard chest and wept. I had no idea we had reached a road until I heard Roberto say quietly, "Have you been waiting here long? I don't want anyone to be able to get a fix on our location." I lifted my head from Roberto's tear stained shirt to see who he was talking to and was stunned when I saw yet another hot man leaning against a black SUV. I mean, what the hell was with these guys? No one should have so much hotness.

Roberto looked down at me with a little sneer of disgust and said, "You can stop drooling now Olivia. I believe Juan has a girlfriend."

With an easy grace Juan moved forward and took my hand. "As a matter of fact, I am currently single and very glad to meet you Olivia. My name is Juan Montero, and for the moment I will be
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your chauffer and anything else you desire."

I felt a little shiver run up my spine that did not go unnoticed by Roberto, who in turn said, "All right Juan, remember your manners. You are not Don Juan after all and we have a serious situation here."

All at once Juan became very serious and began to give a full report. "Alex has dispatched the two guards to Buffalo as you asked, Alex has the other girl under heavy security and the safe house has been prepared. We also have a car that has been swept clean and ready to go."

Roberto had still not put me down and I was starting to feel a little self-conscious. I began to wiggle a little so that he would know I wanted to be let down. His arms just clamped on me tighter.

As he moved towards the car, he said, "Very good. Let's get moving. I will feel better when we get to the safe house. The Guardians, for some reason, always seem to be right on our tails."

Roberto got into the car but still did not let go of me. In a way, I liked that.

If I stopped thinking about the Sensay attraction thing, it plain felt good to have someone hold me. And it was really nice to pretend for a little bit; I was cherished and loved by someone other than my parents.

Juan got in and gave me a little wink in the rear view mirror before starting the car. We drove for about a half hour when Juan pulled the SUV off the road onto what felt like a dirt path. We were getting jostled around pretty good but Roberto kept a tight hold on me so at least I didn't end up on the floor.

From up front Juan said, "Sorry. It's not much farther up this road."

I let out a rather loud hrmppf. "Road? I think you've driven down a mountain. Is this safe house a real house or is it a cave? Like a bat cave or something?" Juan burst out laughing and said,

"Damn Roberto. I like that girl."

"Just keep your eye on the road before you take us into a tree or something. The girl does not concern you." Hmmm, I liked the way Roberto was getting all possessive but all the same I decided to have a little fun with him.

"Awww, thanks Juan. I like you too. You have a nice smile. And you're doing great navigating this treacherous road. You are quite the accomplished driver." Juan started laughing harder as Roberto began, what I swear to God, was a growl.

We finally came to a stop. I looked outside to get a glimpse of the house but didn't see anything. Juan said, "This is a far as I can get you. The house is about a mile east of here. There will be a car parked here for you tomorrow evening all ready to go."

Roberto said, "Thank you for your assistance." Juan replied, "I hope you know what you're
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doing." Roberto raised his eyebrow inquiringly.

"With the girl. Are you sure you want to go down that path?"

Roberto took a menacing step forward, "No. Are you sure you want to go down this path?"

Juan put his hands in the air. "Just trying to divert disaster amigo."

He turned toward me, "It was nice meeting you Olivia. I have never met a Sensay before. The experience has been quite stimulating." he said with a mischievous smile. With a small bow he got back into the car and drove away.

"We better start walking. I don't like being out in the open." Roberto said.

"You call this out in the open?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Yes. These are the days of satellite images and Google earth. No one is safe from people who want to find you." I had to chuckle. "I have a hard time picturing you on Google earth."

Roberto came and stood so close to me that his body was touching mine. "Why is that Miss Sherman? Is it because you think of me as a monster? What did you say earlier? Oh yes, a bloodsucking vampire. Well, believe it or not, I know about Google earth, and I know about kids dying from cancer, and the plight of our rainforests and carbon footprints. I have friends and family I love just like you love yours. The human race does not have a monopoly on that, neither do you as you are not human either."

He began walking, with me just standing there with my mouth hanging open. I snapped out of it and started walking to catch up. I didn't want to be out here lost and alone. He was right. I had been dwelling on him being different, a vampire. And now I'm different too. When did I become so judgmental? My parents never raised me to judge others. They were always about love.

Loving people, loving the earth, loving life. Why had I always been ashamed of that when I was growing up? Why was I afraid of being like them? The world would be a better place if more people were like my parents.

Thinking about them made my heart ache. I had to make sure they were safe. Let them know I loved them and appreciated who they were and what they taught me. I became aware that I had lagged behind and could not see Roberto anymore. I started to feel a little panicky and I stepped up my pace as I began to sing. "Welcome to my nightmare, welcome to my breakdown...." Suddenly a hand clamped over my mouth and I tried to scream when Roberto whispered in my ear, "Be quiet." I nodded my head and he removed his hand.

"Is someone out there?" I whispered back.

"No. I think its best that we are as quiet as possible and your singing is not quiet."

"Are you saying I sing badly?" I asked him with narrowed eyes.

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"Not exactly. I'm saying it's inappropriate for this type of occasion."

"Well, I'm sorry. I tend to sing when I'm nervous or upset or happy. It kind of slips out." I apologized. Roberto looked at me with his eyebrow raised and deadpanned, "Did you ever try eating chocolate like a normal woman?"

I couldn't believe it. Mr. Stodgy himself was trying to be of all things, humorous. I gave him a smile. And in return he gave me a wide smile back. Good Lord the man was positively lethal when he smiled like that.

We seemed to have reached a truce and the rest of the walk was in comfortable silence until I said, "I didn't call you a bloodsucking vampire. Janel called you that." He didn't reply but reached over and took my hand in his. We finally arrived at the safe house, which turned out to be a small wood cabin. I was glad to be there because all of a sudden weariness swept through my body. Roberto opened the door and we stepped inside. He found a light switch and flipped it on. Since the cabin was on the small side, it only took me a few seconds to glance around and take in the furnishings. My eyes stopped on the one and only brass bed that sat in front of the far wall. As my brain processed this fact, I turned to look at Roberto who was staring at me with dark passion filled eyes, and oh yeah, with his fangs protruding from his sexy mouth.

I was proud of the fact I was not panicking, though my heart was pounding a mile a minute.

Roberto quickly averted his face away from me. "You don't have to be afraid. I'm not going to bite you or attack you. I didn't have time to feed tonight."

"Do you have to feed every night?"

"Not necessarily. I expended a lot of energy tonight and that's why I need to feed. I won't hurt you. The forest here is full of animals I can feed from."

I was afraid to ask but I had to. "Do you kill the animals when you feed from them?"

"No Olivia, I am not a killer. I take what I need. Sort of like humans taking milk from animals to drink, I take blood. That's all. It's like having a special diet. There are lots of humans that have modified diets. This is no different." I tried visualizing drinking blood. I guess I could understand the concept of special diet needs. Also, I had read medical articles where people were born with thalassemia, which when severe required a person to have to have transfusions on a regular basis. This was different of course, but I could see the similarities. Roberto was born this way; he needs to drink blood if he is to live. It was still a little nauseating to think about it, but I can handle it, I decided. I think I may have surprised him when I said, "Of course, I understand.

And I'm glad to hear you don't hurt anything when you feed."

"Well, I will confess to you I have made mistakes in the past. When we are young it is hard to
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control your hunger. And I'll be honest with you, not all of us are careful. Like humans, there are good and there are bad. We try and police our own; we have an enforcement agency of sorts that monitors the activities of vampires." I had to ask. "Why don't you let the world know of your existence?"

"Can I ask you a question? Right now do wish that you were back to twenty-four hours ago? Do you wish you had no knowledge of vampires, Sensays and trolls?" I didn't hesitate to answer.

"Yes. I wish I was back in my little apartment, getting ready for work with my biggest worry being how bad the rush hour traffic was going to be." Roberto walked over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "I wish I could give that back to you. But I can't. You were meant for bigger things Olivia. I hate to get metaphysical, but your destiny was never going to be your own. Your path from now on will not be easy." I really didn't want to hear this. All I ever wanted was normal. No drama, no excitement. A nice normal life with a job I liked, a decent husband, a couple of kids. No fame or fortune for me. I thrived on anonymous.

I tried for a lighter tone. "Go ahead and feed. I'm going to look around here to see if I can freshen up a bit and maybe find something to eat. I could use a few minutes alone." He walked over to the door, "I will be back in half an hour. Dawn will be here in about an hour and I need to be ready."

He turned and looked at me like he wanted to say something but instead he opened the door and walked out. I stood staring at the door for a minute and then with a sigh, turned to hunt for my food. The kitchen looked sparse. There was a refrigerator. But when I opened it I discovered it was empty. A small microwave, sink and stove. There were a few old wooden cabinets I started rummaging through. I found some cans of food, a box of crackers and some energy bars. I opened a can of beefaroni and heated it in the microwave and washed it down with some bottled water that I found. Not the gourmet meals I had thought I'd be having this weekend, but it tasted pretty good right about now. There was a door on the far left wall of the kitchen and I went over to see where it led. It was a bathroom. Thank you gods of cleanliness. It wasn't huge but had a toilet, a sink, and a shower stall. I still had about fifteen minutes before Roberto came back. I undressed quickly and got in the shower. It felt like heaven, even though there was no hot water. I managed to wash some of the grime off and when I stepped out I realized there were no towels. Oh well, no help for it, I had to put the same clothes on anyway.